Benefit Saturday for San Marcos man found murdered Tuesday

Friends and family of Matthew Jacob Rodriguez Jr. remember him as a big man with a big smile and a big heart. 

“Matthew Jacob, whom everyone called ‘Big J,’ was a wonderful guy — more than wonderful,” his cousin Danielle Hernandez said. “He was absolutely extraordinary in more than one way, with a one-of-a-kind sense of humor, and we’re going to miss him very, very much.”

Rodriguez, 27, was found shot dead in the parking lot of Park North Condominiums on Aquarena Springs Drive early Tuesday morning. Police are investigating his death, which was the first homicide in San Marcos this year. 

“We’re all at a loss for words, wishing we could wake up from this nightmare,” Hernandez said.

Stephanie Bazan, who was friends with Rodriguez and many of his friends and relatives, said he was a San Marcos High School graduate known for his sense of humor. 

“His death is a big hit for San Marcos,” she said. “Lots of kids knew him, and older folks. He was always there to listen and crack jokes. I just saw him Saturday and I missed him by minutes that afternoon before he was killed. … It’s hard when one of the good ones is taken.”

“People may have met him while he was in his prime goofball days, attending grade school here in San Marcos,” Hernandez said, “or while he was away being a Lion at Trinity playing college football, maybe from his place of business or simply from being the big guy around town. He had a smile so bright and laugh so contagious you couldn’t help but to smile and laugh with him; even seeing it from across the room, you’d catch yourself soon with a grin on, too.”

Some people found his physical size intimidating, Hernandez said, but he gave “the biggest warmest hugs” and had a smile to match.

“It’s heartbreaking knowing he won’t be here to spread that love among his friends and family anymore,” she said. “So caring, thoughtful, kind and funny. He didn’t deserve this. He would never hurt anyone. And no matter what was going on at that moment, nothing, absolutely nothing, justifies the cruel action taken against him that night.”

There will be a benefit for Rodriguez’s family at the I Don’t Know Bar, where Rodriguez had worked part time as a bouncer, on Saturday from noon until food is sold out. Turkey plates with mashed potatoes, corn, green beans and stuffing will be on sale for $8, and raffle tickets will be on sale for $3 or two tickets for $5.

Anyone with information regarding Rodriguez’s death is asked to call the San Marcos Police Department non-emergency line at 512-753-2108 or the SMPD Criminal Investigations Division at 512-753-2300, or Crime Stoppers at 800-324-TIPS.